Tessa tilted her head back, closing her eyes when she felt his damp tongue teasing her sensitive skin. "You think we should stop?" Oh, she didn"t want him to stop, not now, not after experiencing just a hint of the pa.s.sion that lay beneath Alex"s cool, controlled exterior.
"Perhaps." He kissed her again, stealing her breath, his tongue doing a slow, wicked search of her mouth before he pulled away from her. "Perhaps we can stop tomorrow."
81.
The sensual gleam in his eyes made her heart tumble over itself. No way could she resist him and he knew it. She wouldn"t be lying so willingly in his arms if she could. It was just so easy, giving in.
So she did.
Completely.
Tessa"s fingers tightened in Alex"s hair at the back of his head and she pulled him down, kissing him thoroughly. Her inexperienced showed-to him, at least.
The tentative flicks of her tongue against his, the excruciating way she wiggled and squirmed her body in his arms that drove him mad made him wonder how many men she"d been with, if any.
Why did the idea of her being a virgin fill him with such excitement? He normally preferred his women experienced, knowledgeable in the ways of seduction. He wanted an equal in bed, not some meek and scared little mouse.
And not some over the top, scary s.e.xual man-eater either.
Yet the sweet way Tessa capitulated in his arms, her innocent kisses, the way she shivered and moved closer to him as if she couldn"t get enough, it did something to him he couldn"t begin to explain.
Nor did he necessarily want to examine it closely, either.
The car came to a stop, and he realized they were in front of the hotel.
Pulling away from her, he smoothed a hand over her hair, smiling when she gazed up at him with hazy eyes and a dreamy expression. "We"re at the hotel." She frowned. "Are we finished?"
Slowly he shook his head, his other hand sliding along the silken length of her thigh. "No." Silly girl, they were far from finished.
They exited the car quickly and within minutes they were in their suite, the door closing with a click of finality behind them. He followed behind her as she 82 went to the window and stared out at the beautiful view of the city spread out before them like a blanket of twinkling lights. Her shoulders were completely straight, back stiff and her breathing accelerated. He could hear her, the nervous puffs of breath she expelled and he reached out, resting his hand upon her nape, wishing to calm her.
She quivered beneath his palm and he stroked his fingers down the length of her neck, mesmerized with this part of her. How smooth the skin was, how soft and pale, little tendrils of dark, carling hair lay against her flesh. The large earrings she wore swung to and fro and carefully he pulled first one, then the other from her earlobes before setting them down on a nearby table.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Drawing his fingers down the length of her neck, he stepped closer and whispered in her ear, "Undressing you."
Another shuddering breath left her and slowly he worked the satin b.u.t.tons that ran down the back of her dress, his fingers shaking with antic.i.p.ation as he undid each one. She held herself still as slowly he revealed more and more creamy flesh, the delicate lace of her bra appearing and fueling his imagination tenfold.
If the bra was this sheer in the back, he could only hope the front was the same.
He smoothed the dress from her shoulders, the sleeves falling to the crook of her elbows. Her unique sweet fragrance filled his senses and he breathed deep, trying to capture it. Sliding his fingers down her back, he played with the clasp of her bra, undoing it in seconds and the delicate fabric sprang apart.
She glanced at him over her shoulder, lips parted and damp, eyes wide. So d.a.m.ned tempting he swooped in and kissed her, earning a strangled moan from her for his efforts. He could kiss her for hours, drowning in her taste, her scent.
83.
A ringing started in the distance but he didn"t pause in his ministrations. The sound seemed to fuel him and he turned her in his arms so she faced him, the dress falling lower, the bra loose about her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His gaze caught on the vision before him, the tops of her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s tempting him, the lacy cups a tease, hiding her nipples. Carefully he wrapped his hands around her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, stroking his thumbs over her flesh with reverence.
"You-your phone is ringing again," she choked out on a shuddering breath.
"Ignore it." He recognized the ring, knew it was the one he a.s.signed to his brother Hunter and he figured he was still at work. If it was urgent, he would leave him a message.
But the phone silenced only for a moment before it started to ring again. For the third time.
With a growl of impatience, Alex dropped his hands away from Tessa"s delicious curves and pulled his cell out of his pocket. "What?"
"Are you alone?" Hunter"s voice was hushed and filled with urgency.
"No." Alex sent a flickering glance toward Tessa, who shifted on her feet.
She looked uncomfortable and he leaned in, giving her a quick, rea.s.suring kiss.
He mouthed "I"ll be right back" before he turned away and started toward his bedroom. "But I can be. What"s up?"
"We have a problem. A major one."
Impatience filled Alex and he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, spill."
"After an internal investigation by our resident IT expert, we"ve figured out two of the computers that were compromised and used in obtaining the information that was leaked."
Alex strode into his bedroom and quietly shut the door. "Which computers?" Hunter breathed deep. "You"re not going to like this." 84 "Just tell me." His mood grew more somber the longer he talked to his brother.
The news couldn"t be good.
"Yours and Tessa"s."
"What?" He collapsed onto the bed, sitting on the edge. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, we"re sure. Yours has been broken into only once but Tessa"s was numerous times. No other computers were used, at least from what we"ve discovered so far."
"How can you tell they were tampered with?"
"They"re always used during odd hours, usually during the weekend or late at night. Everyone has a pattern, the programs they use, the websites they go to, their inboxes and all that. It"s distinctly different when our snitch sneaks onto the computer, though. They go to very specific places, as if they know exactly what they"re looking for and they use minimum keystrokes. The IT man thinks it might be a professional," Hunter explained.
"Huh." Alex couldn"t believe it. Who could"ve gotten into his office? He always kept the door locked and though he spent many a late night there, he was usually one of the only ones remaining when he left besides the cleaning staff and security. Tessa occasionally stayed late with him, and she also worked the occasional Sat.u.r.day.
Alex frowned. It couldn"t be her.
"Tessa"s desk I understand. She doesn"t have an office and her computer is readily available though someone would"ve had to figure out her pa.s.sword code to gain access. Yours though, that"s the mystery. I know you"re diligent about locking your office every night so I don"t know how anyone could"ve got in there besides the cleaning crew. We"re investigating them now." Realization dawned. Tessa had been in his office last Sat.u.r.day...
85.
"I don"t know either," Alex said grimly, not about to reveal where he had discovered Tessa. Hunter would run with it, dig and dig for the truth until finally he found it.
And maybe...just maybe Alex didn"t want to know anything yet. Not that he suspected her. It wasn"t possible. She wasn"t savvy enough, wasn"t sophisticated enough to pull something like this off.
He would do his own investigation. Prove to himself before turning her over to his brother that she could never be so disloyal to Worth.
Or to him.
"Looks like the relaunch went off without a hitch," Hunter said.
"It did. We had an excellent turnout and the media was there in droves.
Great exposure."
"I know, I saw. Photos have already hit the web." Hunter paused. "How"s Tessa?"
"Tessa?"
"Yeah, you know, your s.e.xy little a.s.sistant? How"s she doing? Holding up while dealing with you?"
"She"s working out-perfectly." He gazed at the closed door, wishing he were with her right now, not listening to his brother drone on. Revealing bits of information he didn"t want to hear.
"Got her into your bed yet?"
"No." Alex scowled when Hunter laughed.
"Answered too quick, bro. I have a feeling you"re making the moves as we speak."
He hated that his brother was so close to the truth. "I"m not making moves on her, Hunter. It wouldn"t be appropriate."
86.
Hunter chuckled. "No need to sound like such a stuffed shirt. If you want to f.u.c.k her, I won"t hold it against you."
Alex"s skin chilled to the very bone, hearing what he was about to do with Tessa put so bluntly. Deep down, he knew it was the truth. He did want to-f.u.c.k Tessa. And she deserved so much more. "I need to go. Call me as soon as you learn more."
"Yeah, well if you remember anything, you do the same. Any bit of information you can think of is appreciated. This IT expert we have is like a forensics investigator. He"s putting everything together like pieces of an intricate puzzle."
"I"ll call you." Alex hung up and tossed the phone on his bed.
His mood was ruined. His erection long gone. There was no chance he"d spend the night with Tessa.
He had too many things to consider. The first whether he could trust her.
87.
Chapter Seven.
They"d traveled to Sweden and Norway, then on to Spain, Germany and finally they were in Paris for the next two nights before they made their final stop in London. It had been a whirlwind of a trip, constant traveling in the jet with Lora nowhere to be found, their days filled with press junkets and store openings. Tessa worked long hours, fielding phone calls, emails and inquiries for Alex throughout the day when she wasn"t helping supervise the events at the stores. Organizing and a.s.sisting, making sure everything went off without a hitch. Every single night she fell into bed exhausted.
And always alone.
After the night of the charity ball, when they"d been interrupted by a phone call, Alex hadn"t touched her. Nor had he talked to her about what happened.
He"d come out to wish her a good night while she still stood where he left her, her dress falling down around her waist, body still humming with arousal.
It was as if those few stolen minutes they"d shared never existed.
She couldn"t deny his rejection hurt. She"d fallen asleep that first night crying so many tears her pillowcase had been damp. The next day she"d been befuddled, confused as to why he behaved like nothing ever happened. That he wouldn"t even acknowledge it hurt even more.
Sadness, confusion, frustration and finally, anger had settled in. The one emotion that drove her on, made her determined to do a d.a.m.n fine job on this blasted tour until they got back to New York and she"d discreetly ask for a transfer to another division within the company.
Maybe Hunter was in need of someone on his marketing team, not that she had much experience in that area. Anywhere would be better than with Alex.
At least, that"s what she told herself, especially late at night as she was trying to fall asleep, fighting her thoughts of him.
Unfortunately, he came to her in her dreams more often than not.
"Do you have the schedule, Tessa?"